Solid waste management & waste-to-energy options
Reduction, recycling and compost - waste-to-energy
Alpine Flamingo can help you develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to minimize energy used to support your solid waste systems. Additional considerations for a comprehensive solid waste management strategy include total costs and net emissions.
Reduction, recycling and compost
- Reducing the cost and carbon footprint associated with removing garbage, recyclables, compostables, used cooking oil and other solid wastes requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses all waste streams.
- Practical considerations, such as available storage space and the labor required to move wastes to removal points, and legal considerations, such as the amount of time putrescible wastes can be stored on-site, are relevant.
- Questions around the availability and practicality of the collection, recycling or disposal of specialized wastes, from used fluorescent lights to potentially biohazardous materials, are also relevant.
- A sophisticated solid waste strategy will include separation, temporary storage, and disposal plans for all forms of solid waste, with consideration of relevant laws, locally available disposal systems, and the net costs and energy required.
- Alpine Flamingo’s staff has developed and managed the implementation of solid waste management strategies and is well-positioned to assist you with every phase of the development and implementation of effective solid waste management strategies for large facilities, campuses, villages and remote bases.
Waste-to-energy: Not just for major cities any more
- Many solid waste materials, such as wood, paper, cardboard, plastics, cooking oil and food waste can be used as sources of fuel for waste-to-energy systems.
- It may be better to separate and recycle these materials, but…
- …depending on your situation, and depending on how much money and energy it takes to haul wastes off-site, it might also be better to use the solid waste as fuel in a waste-to-energy system.
- To use solid waste as a fuel source, such wastes must be separated from other wastes, and technologies that can be used to convert the solid waste to energy at a scale that matches the volume of available waste must be used.
- Till recently, waste-to-energy systems have required very high waste volumes. Specialty systems that use specific wastes at low volumes are starting to become available. Depending on your situation, such technologies may offer cost or even net (after considering waste hauling and disposal energy) greenhouse gas reductions.
- Alpine Flamingo’s staff has evaluated small-scale waste-to-energy technologies and has developed conceptual designs for facilities that have specialized waste management needs. We are well-positioned to help you determine how to use waste-to-energy systems.